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TV Review: "Arrow", 3X15: "Nanda Parbat"

An episode filled with the League of Assassins, a hookup we all knew was gonna happen and didn't want to, and an ending that will leave us talking for weeks? Yeah, needless to say, a lot happened.

This episode revolves around Team Arrow trying to save Malcolm Merlyn from the League of Assassins. Odd isn't it? Wouldn't you think by the last few episodes that there's no way that Felicity, Roy or Diggle would be okay with this? And doesn't it seem like Oliver is being increasingly pro Malcolm just because he's Thea's father, even though Oliver has known that for some time? Hmm . . .I want more R'as Al Ghul. He's been pretty much MIA since the midseason finale and while I understand the writer's are waiting till closer to episode 20 to include him more, I just need something. We need to understand just how much of a badass this guy is and it needs to be building up through the season, not forgotten about.Why is it that he seemed to totally forget about his daughter too? It seems like that'd be more of a pressing matter to him.

Honestly one of the more frustrating aspects of the show is the inconsistency with Felicity's character. She is all over the place and seems to be making decisions that are more plot based than character based. They have opportunities for redemption in the coming episodes, but she took some further steps back this week. BIG steps back.

As Ray becomes more dimensional he becomes much more likable as well. The moment he gets romantic with Felicity I will hate his character and everything he stands for -- oh wait, that finally happened? Yeah, screw him. Go to your spin-off show and leave Starling City alone. Sure, it was cool to finally see him in his Atom costume but it was actually pretty underwhelming. They should have just stuck to showing the closeups of the suit. As soon as they started showing him flying and in wide shots, it got a little silly. I hope he's not around for long.

I'm glad that they included Diggle a little more this week but his inclusion didn't make a lot of sense. So even though he's got a newborn baby, he's going to go on a suicide mission with Oliver to get Malcolm Merlyn back, just to save Thea from the guilt? I get that he also feels for Oliver and the PTSD he's going through from pretty much dying but I felt that they could have gone about it differently. Especially given how anti-Merlyn that Diggle has been.I can't believe Thea killing Sarah has finally come to a head. I thought they'd drag that out for the entire season. I enjoyed how uncomfortable and guilty Thea was in the beginning, but then she told Laurel in the next scene. It was pretty underwhelming given that they've hyped that moment for a while now with Laurel's Canary pursuits making it seem like she'd turn violent during the reveal. No such luck.

Speaking of Thea, look at her being bullheaded again. Anytime I think she's grown, she just goes back to the same annoying habits. Let Laurel makes the dumb decisions. Her character hasn't undergone the growth that Thea supposedly has. Seems like the only real difference in her character is that she now has sick combat skills. The tease of her death is something I know the writer's won't go through with but a man can dream.

Malcolm beating up Laurel was executed perfectly. I like having a character on the show that is so unskilled and ill equipped in combat. It makes things feel a little less choreographed and adds a level of tension as well. You never know when Laurel is gonna screw up and cost someone their life. And Malcolm begging for his life once he was captured by The League provided some satisfaction for all we've put up with from his character. I was definitely expecting him to be dead by the episodes end.

Am I the only person that noticed the huge plot hole with that big twist at the end of the episode? Okay, so R'as tells Oliver that he wants him to be the next R'as Al Ghul and take over the League of Assassin's. The guy who R'as defeated easily and had completely fallen into every trap set for him as he tried to rescue Merlyn. THAT is the guy you want to take over your ancient organization? Seems like poor planning to me.Now we have three more weeks to wait until another new episode. Three weeks to find out if Thea can get out of what should be certain death. Three weeks to see if Oliver will accept and become the next R'as Al Ghul (Is this really even an option? I wish it were). It's gonna be a long wait.

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zombievictim

I'd like my writing to further represent me as a person by providing different insights into the things currently on my mind. Whether it's writing about a movie, TV show, album, book, wrestling event, experience, or life lesson. I don't plan on making this a personal blog where I treat it like a diary. This is just supposed to represent… Me.